All hierarchies rely on myths pretending to be natural

In eighteenth-century Europe, a silk-draped courtier stepped across the polished marble floor at Versailles, his powdered curls and French brocade proclaiming his rank. He never dreamed that the reigning social order—a moral code of birth-right and blood—was a fragile fiction. Meanwhile, a peasant girl in rural Normandy toiled in a stone cottage, convinced her place in life was fixed by divine law.

Fast forward two centuries: the same ‘noble’ courtier’s descendants now shop at discount supermarkets and live in townhouses—proving that wealth and status can evaporate overnight. The peasant girl’s lineage went on to revolutionise democracy, dotting city councils across the globe—showing that birth alone doesn’t cement power. Both were trapped by myths: that aristocracy is ordained, and poverty is destiny.

Today, we still worship hierarchy myths—corporate ladder, Ivy League pedigree, social cliques. We assume they’re natural because they’ve been recycled for generations. But anthropologists and sociologists agree these divisions are inter-subjective orders—shared fictions we agree to uphold. Recognising that can liberate us: we can rewrite those myths, redraw the lines, and give everyone a real shot at success. The key? Question what everyone takes for granted.

Next time someone drops a familiar status cue—“He went to Harvard,” “She’s the manager’s niece”—pause and ask: What myth underpins that claim? Then think: Who might thrive if we tore down that wall? Changing a myth starts with one question. Try it tonight.